Sidney Crosby's return after three months of inactivity didn't hurt the chemistry of the Pittsburgh Penguins one bit as they surged closer to the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. Crosby played for the first time since another bout with concussion symptoms forced him to the sidelines on Dec. 5. He got on the score sheet Thursday night with an assist as the Penguins stretched their winning streak to 10 by beating the Rangers 5-2. It marked the first time this season New York allowed five goals. Now the Penguins trail the Rangers by just four points in the races for the East and the Atlantic Division. Panthers 6, Bruins 2: Jose Theodore stopped 24 shots and the Florida Panthers scored three second-period goals to beat the Boston Bruins. Wojtek Wolski, Tomas Kopecky, John Madden, Stephen Weiss, Marcel Goc and Mikael Samuelsson scored for the Panthers. Brian Campbell had three assists. Florida has won three straight games and increased its lead in the Southeast Division to three points ahead of idle Washington. Brian Rolston and Joe Corvo scored for the Bruins, and Tim Thomas made 23 saves. Maple Leafs 3, Lightning 1: James Reimer made 34 saves, taking a shutout into the final minute, and the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a five-game skid with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. St. Louis spoiled Reimer's shutout bid with 26 seconds left. John-Michael Liles, Joey Crabb and Jake Gardiner scored for the Maple Leafs. Devils 1, Avalanche 0: Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise scored in the shootout to give the New Jersey Devils a narrow win over the Colorado Avalanche. Martin Brodeur sealed the win. New Jersey picked up its league-leading 11th shootout win, ending Colorado's three-game winning streak. Other results: Hurricanes 2, Blues 0; Flyers 3, Islanders 2; Flames 4, Coyotes 1; Sharks 2, Predators 1 (SO).
